Written by: Alex Rhowuniong
Sometimes, I wonder if all people that are using the handicapped parking spots, have the proper documentation in their vehicles at all times: a placard or a license plate.
The other day I went to the store with my 19-year-old. We pulled into the 7 Day Supermarket parking lot in Harmon, and I asked him to get me a drink: V8 fruits and vegetable. “One or two,” he asked as he was about to close his door, “one, it is. I will be right back, daddy.” These days he tells me when he is coming or leaving, as if I don’t know he’s coming back anymore. I noticed he just started doing that after I got back from my hospital stay after my stroke. I feel like telling him, “Hey, I am not losing my mind yet, it’s slowed but it’s not gone.” As we were talking a car pulled out from the handicapped spot, just ahead of us.
My son disappeared through the double doors. And just as soon as he disappeared, a pickup came flying into the handicapped spot… to a screeching halt. Now he had gotten me curious, a handicapped on a mission. I mean, burning rubber just to get into his parking spot. I got to see this. But, instead, out jumped a young man, no more than 19 or 20. Wait! What? There was no passenger, not a handicapped person, anyway. The back window was opened, so I strained to looked in the back window for the placard right up near the rear view mirror. No placard. My gaze dropped quickly down to his license plate… and no, it’s not a handicap plate either. My son was in the store for quite a while. And after some time soon he came out, but the young man from the pick up truck was still inside. What is it that he is getting?
I began to wonder, how many people actually have documentation to get into these coveted spots? And even if you had a legitimate reason–you had a placard–if you don’t are not a handicapped person, shouldn’t you give the parking to a person in more need? For the person who had no business parking there, I can see how tempting it would have been, had I been in a hurry. No one would notice… just pop in, pop out. I try to think of one reason I would want to park in there. I could only come up with two:
1) I just don’t care and 2) I’m in a hurry. Don’t these reasons just fly in the face of the law?
Now, it doesn’t really take a rocket scientist, people, to figure out what handicapped parking is. I’ve actually seen this happening, where the guy pulled in with a fresh paint and all. Plus, the post stood looming over the parking space. He was lucky… I actually rode with him.
“I did not see it, man,” came the reply when I reminded him very politely.
“I must have been dreaming.” He was not. I mean, they’ve designed it so ALL these parking spaces are closest to the door. There is no way I could absentmindedly drive in there.
And this thing about not seeing it, lame.
On Guam, we pride ourselves in caring for the manamko (elderly). Could we honor that space too, it belong to them… to my manamko, my grandpa?